Chapter 134: Cut off from life
Xiao Jingheng was not interested in knowing who seduced whom first.
He stood up and said in a solemn voice:
"The entire Ge family, from top to bottom, all male members were beheaded, and the female members were exiled to Western Dan to become slaves to the armored men."
"Your Majesty, please have mercy! Your Majesty, please have mercy!"
Ge Zhongqi cried out for justice and begged for mercy, but was gagged and dragged away.
Xiao Jingheng strode out the door, and stopped for a moment when he passed by Song Yue, and said,
"Jiang Deshun, have someone abort the evil child in her belly and throw her to the prison to be tried later."
Song Yue panicked, grabbed Xiao Jingheng's trouser legs and cried:
"Your Majesty, please spare my life! This child is innocent, Your Majesty! Ah!!!"
Without even a word of begging for mercy, Jiang Deshun pushed Song Yue's hand away and then kicked her hard in the abdomen.
Song Yue rolled over on the ground in pain, crying and shouting.
After Xiao Jingheng left, Jiang Deshun beckoned over several palace servants and said expressionlessly:
"Have you heard the Emperor's order? Then proceed."
Several palace servants rushed forward, blocked Song Yue's mouth with a rough cloth, and then stepped on her like mud, trampling on her wantonly.
*
After dealing with this matter, Xiao Jingheng went to Song Zhao Palace.
He wanted to see if Song Zhao would speak well of Song Shicheng indirectly when he was completely unaware of the situation.
However, when he saw Song Zhao today, he saw that she looked so sad. Even after paying her respects, she just stood there blankly and didn't dare to look him in the eye.
Xiao Jingheng asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Unexpectedly, when asked this question, Song Zhao knelt directly in front of him and said in a crying voice:
"I am guilty, Your Majesty, please punish me."
Xiao Jingheng frowned slightly, and did not personally support her as usual, but said lightly:
"If you have anything to say, get up and answer."
Song Zhao knelt on the ground, lowered his head, and said with sobs:
"I am too embarrassed to face the emperor. Today...after I learned from the emperor that you would deal with the Ge family, I secretly sent a letter to my eldest sister."
As she spoke, she bowed her head and said with great sorrow, "There is one thing that I have been deceiving Your Majesty for a long time. The last time my father came to the hot spring villa, he accidentally told me that my elder sister had an affair with the eldest son of the Ge family and was pregnant. But not only did I not tell the emperor about this, I was also afraid that the emperor would be angry with my mother's family after knowing this, so I deliberately concealed this matter."
By the time he said this, Song Zhao had already burst into tears.
"Today, I made a big mistake by informing my elder sister of this matter in advance, thinking that as long as my elder sister had an abortion, she would not be implicated by the Ge family. But after I delivered the message, I felt uneasy. The emperor treated me so well, but I was selfish for the sake of my mother's family... I felt that I was really bad..."
Looking at Song Zhao kneeling in front of him, trembling and crying,
Xiao Jingheng was full of doubts at first, and then he felt distressed.
It is absolutely impossible for Song Zhao to predict what will happen today.
Firstly, the servant who delivered the water cart had already left the palace, and was being watched by Jiang Deshun's men the entire time, so he would not give Song Zhao any feedback;
Secondly, Song Yue and Ge Zhongqi were taken into the palace in secret, and they both left through the Chongyang Gate, which was under martial law, so Song Zhao could not have known about it.
Thirdly, the only people who knew about this in the imperial court were Jiang Deshun and Xiao Yinzi. These two were loyal servants that even the Queen and Concubine Ning could not bribe, so it was impossible for them to pass the news privately to a mere noble.
In this way, Xiao Jingheng can be sure.
Song Zhao's confession to him today was due to guilt and came from the bottom of his heart.
At this moment, Song Zhao cried so hard that his heart was broken.
How can I bear to blame anyone anymore?
He leaned over and helped Song Zhao up, gently wiping the tears from her face.
"Don't cry, I don't blame you. It's natural for you to worry about your elder sister. And I already knew about your elder sister and Ge Zhongqi's affair."
Song Zhao's eyes flashed with surprise, "The emperor knew about this all along?"
Xiao Jingheng nodded calmly, and then said: "Today, I also called your elder sister and Ge Zhongqi into the palace. Just now, they admitted to each other's dirty deeds in front of me. I severely punished the Ge family, and as for your elder sister..."
He held Song Zhao's thin shoulders, embraced her in his arms, and said softly: "The country has its own laws. She and Song Shicheng have deceived the emperor and the emperor is an irrefutable fact. I can't forgive her just because I dote on you. But I can promise you that you have entered the palace and are now my concubine. From the beginning to the future, no matter what absurd things the Song family has done, I will not vent my anger on you."
Xiao Jingheng's words completely cut off Song Zhao's chance to plead for Song Yue.
Song Zhao had no choice but to say, "Eldest sister is indeed wrong. Your Majesty should punish her as you wish. I will not ask any more questions. And in this matter, I am also wrong.
I was confused and passed the news to my elder sister. I was terrified and felt guilty for the emperor's kindness to me. So I would like to ask for a six-month salary deduction to learn a lesson from this matter."
Xiao Jingheng was actually not annoyed with Song Zhao at all.
She did not tip off Song Shicheng, which meant she did not interfere in state affairs.
The only problem was that I informed Song Yue, but fortunately I realized my mistake and came to my senses in time.
So Xiao Jingheng did not punish Song Zhao, and said:
"Your elder sister has been imprisoned by me now. We will discuss all matters later."
There was no way Xiao Jingheng would give Song Yue a chance to live.
But if he executed Song Yue directly, it would inevitably make Song Zhao sad.
In order to prevent Song Zhao from having any estrangement with him, he told Song Zhao that he was only detaining Song Yue temporarily.
Because he knew that Song Zhao was kind-hearted and would definitely go to the Queen Mother to plead for mercy.
Moreover, Song Yue is a female member of the family, and the Queen Mother also has the power to decide her life or death.
But the Queen Mother had always disliked Jiang. If Song Zhao went to the Queen Mother to plead for mercy at this time, the Queen Mother would surely fly into a rage and execute Song Yue directly!
By then, Song Yue's death would be the Queen Mother's intention, and it would have nothing to do with Xiao Jingheng.
Even if Song Zhao was unhappy, he would not be dissatisfied with Xiao Jingheng.
Just as Xiao Jingheng expected,
Early the next morning, Song Zhao went to the Queen Mother to plead for mercy.
After hearing the whole story, the Queen Mother was indeed annoyed.
"This is absolutely absurd! You actually want me to protect this whore? She and your father committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, and you knew about it but didn't report it. The emperor is showing his favor by not pursuing you! I advise you to ignore this matter!"
Song Zhao was about to cry and said, "I know, but...she is my elder sister after all."
The Queen Mother knew that Song Zhao had a kind heart.
But she really couldn't stand the fact that she was nice to everyone and seemed to be out of her mind.
With a personality like hers, she is bound to suffer in the harem in the future.
So the Queen Mother was silent for a while, and decided to teach Song Zhao a lesson and cure her compassionate heart.
She said, "Since you have asked me for mercy and cried so hard, I can't bear to refuse you. Let me put it this way, between your father and your elder sister, I can only protect one. You decide who lives and who dies."
Song Zhao nodded and shed tears. He was silent for a long time before he uttered a sentence in a trembling voice,
"Please ask the Queen Mother... to ask the Emperor to forgive my father!"
"Okay, I promise you."
The Queen Mother took out a silk handkerchief and wiped Song Zhao's tears.
"But your elder sister's life must be taken by you personally. This move is to make your position clear to me and the emperor. It can also calm down the possible criticism in the harem in the future, so that people will not say that I and the emperor are partial to you. Do you understand?"
Song Zhao looked sad and confused.
After a long while, she nodded heavily in agreement, but she couldn't hold back her tears again.
Perhaps she was afraid that the Queen Mother would see it, so she turned around quickly and said while trying to hold back her sobs:
"The tea is cold. I will go and get some new tea for the Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother looked at her departing back, her thin shoulders trembling uncontrollably from crying, and she felt heartbroken.
But how could she know that Song Zhao's trembling shoulders and back at this moment had nothing to do with crying at all?
The moment she turned her back, she almost laughed out loud.
How can I cry?
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